Ferreira,
Ferreira reviewed what was known about the medical uses of Blue 1.
The purinergic system is widespread throughout the brain, nervous system and every other system in the body.
- Because Blue 1 and the related BBG are antagonists of purinergic receptors such as P2X7R, they may one day be used as treatment of a number of illnesses that currently have no good treatments — Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injury, prion illnesses, traumatic brain injury, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and others.
- Blue 1 inhibits mitochondrial respiration in vitro.
- In eye surgery, it may help relieve inflamed tissues that have P2X7R hyperactivity.
NOTE: The medical uses of Blue 1 all appear to be related to its being toxic to something that needs damping down.
Ferreira warns that Blue 1 in food and toiletries can approach the amount used medically, especially since it can also be absorbed through shaven skin, mucosal membranes (e.g., the tongue), and even the gut when permeability is increased (e.g., by NSAID pain meds, kidney failure, bowel disease, etc.) Thus, Blue 1 can be useful where the receptor P2X7R has been upregulated by disease and needs to be suppressed – but may be problematic at other times.
